Lead tinning machine



Nov. 15, 1955 R. E. FLEMING 2,723,922

LEAD TINNING MACHINE Filed Dec. 31, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR RAYMOND E. FLEMING ATTORNEY 1955 R E. FLEMING LEAD TINNING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 51, 1952 R OHM TL N m R w m ID N M 0 WW AB NM wm mm wv MQ E Q m Q s Q Nov. 15, 1955 R E. FLEMING LEAD TINNING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 31, 1952 INVENTOR RAYMOND E. FLEMING ATTORNEY Nov. 15, 1955 R. E. FLEMING LEAD TINNING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 31, 1952 INVENTOR RAYMOND E. FLEMING BY ATTORNEY Nov. 15, 1955 R. E. FLEMING LEAD TINNING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Dec. 51, 1952 INVENTOR RAYMOND E. FLEMING ATTORNEY Nov. 15, 1955 R. E. FLEMING LEAD TINNING MACHINE 8 Sheets-"beet 7 Filed Dec. 31, 1952 INVENTOR RAYMOND E. FLEMING ATTORNEY Nov. 15, 1955 R. E. FLEMING LEAD TINNING MACHINE -8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Dec. 51, 1952 INVENTOR RAYMOND E. FLEMING y bfiwma;

ATTORNEY QQ w.

I 2,723,922 Painted Nov. 1'5, 1.955;

1,723,922 LEAD TINNING MACHINE Raymond E. Fleming Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Sylvania Electric Products Inccorporation of Massachusetts.

The" piesent invention relates to article processing machines of the type providing for one or. moretreatment stages,- and more particularly to. the. controlled handling of the article in suclrmachines'. More specifically this invention is concerned with apparatus for tinning wires'j or leads extending from a glass-walled vacuum tube or the like.

It is often necessary to load articles into holders or' the like and to properly pos tion the articles relative to the respective holders for subsequent treatment. Especially in a machine for tinning the lead. of vacuum tubes, it-

ad vantageous to load the machine in a manner assuring a uniform extent of exposure of the tube leads to the cleaning tinning and washing stages in order to achieve uniformity in, the. timing of the leads. 'It is im-, pdrt ant to minimize the risk of twisting or breaking of the relatively fragile tube leads or wires and to avoid mechanical and thermal shock to the vitreous tube bodies and the elements contained therein during processing. Additionally, handling and processing of the vacuum tubes should be accomplished in a manner consistent with the considerations of low unit cost, relatively high production speed; and simplicity of operation, maintenance and repair. l

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel article processing machine achieving some orall of the foregoing desirable results.

It is another object of the present invention to provide; aprocessing machine in which articles are automatically engaged accurately for treatment and thereafter carried. through'prog ressive treatment stages.

=-A further object of the present invention is the provi sio'n-of a pr'ocessing'machine for articles of the type having pr'oiect-ing' leads or wires which is automatically operable to uniformly expose the leads. to one or more treatment stages. l

A- still further object of the present invention, is the provisionof a machine for tinning the leads of' vacuum tubes which may be manually fed and automatically carriesthe tubes througha treatment cycle without, twist ing or'} breaking the'r'elatively fragile tube leads.

A still further object 'of the present invention is the provision" of a lead tinning machine providing for the controlled and adjustable height of exposure of. the. leads to one or more treatment stages.

Itis still a. further object of the present invention to provide anautomatically operated machine for tinning the" leads; of vacuum tubes and the like which minimizes production losses. incident to the processing of, the. tubes; by avoiding erratic exposure of, the leads to the. various. i a 'nt tag A still further object of the present invention isthe provision of a manually fed lead tinning machine which is antoinati'ca' lly operable to completely and uniformlyneeds. the. l'eadsof vacuum tubes.

still' further object of; the present invention is the provision of a machine for accurately and uniformly United States Patent fiice 2' v tinning leadsof large. numbers of vacuum tubes at a relativ lylow unit cost.

A still further object of the present invention, is the Provision ofari automatically operated machine for tin.- 5 ning' we leads of miniature vacuum tubeswhich subjects, only predetermined portions of the tube leadsto the, various treatmentstages yet does not require constant surveillance and is capable of relatively high production speeds with minimum. losses due to breakage. The leads 10, xtending from. a glassrwalled tube body: shouldbe immersed'in a molten. tin bath as deep as possible for; timing their entire length; but particular caution. must be. exercised. to avoid damaging contact of the glass with nah-area 1 l i I l5v The foregoing objects and others will become. apparent from a detailed description below of an illustrative -em-' bo'di t eut .tticularly advantageous, for the uniform handling and sequential processing of vacuum. tubes having leads to be t'inne d.,. Briefly, this. embodiment provides asap-wise ed carrier having a number of. receivers which may be manually loaded with the vacuum tubes, and a main. carrier having tube holders to which the tubes are. transfer ,d' from the. feed carrier at a loading station The envelope portions of the successive tubes are inserted into the holders to a definite. extent. determined by the uniform strokel'of a transfer element. v I

In transferring the tubes in this illustrative apparatus, the relatively fragile leads are arranged to trail and pro feet from be supporting. holder. The tube body is sup ported during' transfer through a'length of travel much greater than thelen'gth' of the body itself because of these readyet' he support provides. clearance for the leads he ndexing of the loaded holders away from the er station, and the arrangement accommodates free 'nt; of the next loaded receiver, and unloaded ate the transfer position, The carriersgare spaced ap tj andial t'ube suppo'rt is arranged at: the loading station along thetransfer path. from the. feed carrier to the main; car

40 Alter necessar es nter and uniform insertionof; t bes the holders of the main carrier,;t he tubes are carried rou h, acyele including exposure of the tube leauian acid cleaning bath; a solder or tinning bath This progressive treatment, likewise l I ,hich' the leads are immersed to be tinned l shed' the provision. of. further operating of limited and uniform stroke which move e holders relative tothe various baths to a. therein. e tube envelope from which. the leads I} I onin theinitial operation of inserting the tubes llJlIO hqldbl, and this. base, as. areference" is uniforrrrly transported during the processing operations. from the fioreg'oi'ng it. is apparent, that each; of the vacuum tubes is accurately positioned initially relative to, its holder;.and'siib sequently has itsmlead immersed in the treatment baths toia uniform extent by predeterrninedcon lfurther, the handling and processing'from loading through. the complete treatment: cycle is accomplished in a. mannerprotecting the leads, the tube body, and the elements therein. v

The above objects and brief description will be best understood by reference to the following detailed descrip tionof; an illustrative embodiment when taken in con junction; with: the: accompanying drawings wherein? l igal is artop' plan view, with parts broken" away and showniin-sec'tion; of'the' lead tinningmachi'ne" of the pres-' entlinvention;

Eigz; 2 is a" sectional view' partially broken awayane taken substantially along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows, the scale of Fig. 2 being larger than that of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view, with parts broken away and shown in section, of the feed turret and tube support at the loading station of the main turret;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view, with parts broken away,v taken along the line 44 of Fig. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows, the scale of Fig. 4'being larger than that of Fig. 3 but somewhat reduced as compared to the actual embodiment;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view, with parts broken away in the; view for clarity, showing the tube holder in the loading position and in alignment with the tube support at the loading station of the main turret; I

Fig. 6 is a top plan view, with parts broken away, showing a form of Geneva drive for the feed turret;

7 Figs. 7 and 7a are vertical and horizontal cross-sectional views, respectively, with parts broken away, showing details of the tube support 18 (Figs. 1, 2, 3 and'S) at the loadingstation; v p

' Fig. 8 is a timing diagram showing the correlation between the various mechanisms of the tube processing machine that participate in the transfer operation;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 9-9 of Fig. l and looking in the direction of the arrows;

' Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 1010 of Fig. l and looking in the direction of the arrows; I

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary vertical cross-section along the circular path traveled by holder s 16 in Fig. 1 with parts broken away; and

Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing the holder raising track 276 of Fig. l and associated parts for bringing the holders into the horizontal loading position.

Referring now to Fig. 1, there is illustrated an article processing machine, specifically a device for tinning the leads of vacuum tubes, including a rotatable intermittently-indexed feed carrier or turret 10 having radiallyspaced receivers 12 for vacuum tubes. The feed turret 10 is'spaced from a rotatable main turret 14 that is interrriittently indexed in timed relation with respect to the feed turret 10. The main turret 14 carries radially spaced tube holders 16 successively movable into a transfer posi-' tion in alignment with the successive receivers 12. The holders 16 are successively loaded with the vacuum tubes which are transferred from the feed turret 10 to the main turret 14 via a tube support or guide 18 arran ed at a loading station 20 of the turret 14. At the loading station 20 successive holders 16 are brought into position to receive the vacuum-tubes in a manner thereafter permitting the uniform exposure of the tube leads. The main turret 14 provides a cleaning zone 22, for preparing the leads of the vacuum tubes 15 for tinning; a timing station 24 for uniformly exposing the leads to a'tinning melt; a wash station 26 at which the tinned leads are cooled and cleaned; and an unloading station 28 for delivering the vacuum tubes 15 with uniformly tinned leads.

In Figs. 2 to 7, there are shown the details of the structure in Fig. 1 for transferring the vacuum tubes from the receivers 12 of the feed turret 10 through the tube support-18 and for inserting the tubes to a predetermined ex tentiinto the holders 16 of the main turret 14. The extent of insertion is in reference to the surface of the glass tube-envelope from which the wires emerge, and the tinning is to extend as near to this surface as practicable. Specifically, the feed turret 10 includes a turret body 30 rotatably mounted on a vertical shaft 32 journaled in the feed turret support 34. The turret body 30 comprises a circular plate 36 carrying a plurality of spaced-apart tube receiver segments 38 on the upper surface thereof. The adjacent segments 38 are formed with cooperating radially extending cut-outs 40, 40 defining the receivers 12 for vacuum tubes 15. The under surface of the plate 36 is provided with a plurality of radially extending downwardly opening guideways 42, each underlying an adjacent receiver 12 and communicating therewith through a vertical and radial slot 44. Supported within each of the guideways 42 is a radially reciprocal pusher bar 46 maintained within the guideways by slide keeper plates 47 and carrying an upstanding pusher blade 48 which projects upwardly through the adjacent slot 44.

As shown in Figs. 2 to 4, the pusher blades 48 normally extend longitudinally of the adjacent tube receivers 12 and are arranged in a retracted position. The blades reaching the unloading station are projected and retracted, as illustrated in Fig. 5 in solid lines and in phantom respectively. The partly retracted position is designated by the letter A, at the time the blade engages the base 15a of the adjacent vacuum tube 15. Upon radial movement of pusher blade 48 to the extended position, designated by the letter B, the tube 15 of the particular receiver 12 at the transfer station is pushed through the support 18 and the tube body 15b is inserted into the adjacent holder 16 of the main turret 14 to an extent determined by the uniform stroke of the blade 48. During transfer, the tube leads 15c to be tinned trail behind the body 15b and, when transfer is completed, the leads project beyond the holder. into the tube support 18.

In order to bring successive loaded tube receivers 12 and unloaded tube holders 16 into the transfer position in alignment with the tube support 18, the feed turret 10 is intermittently indexed in one direction and the main turret 14 is simultaneously indexed in the opposite rotational direction, the apposed portions of the two turrets being advanced together, like meshed gears. For this purpose, a main drive shaft 50 is journaled on the main turret base 52 and coupled to respective Geneva drives for intermittently indexing and locking the main turret 14 and the feed turret 10.

Referring specifically to Fig. 2, the main turret indexing and lock mechanism is seen to include a main turret drive shaft 54 rotatably mounted on the base 52 and carrying a pinion 56 on its upper end. The pinion 56 meshes with an internal circular rack 58 carried by the main turret body 60, the latter being journaled on the base 52 by a supporting shaft 62, and bearings 64, 66 The main turret drive shaft 54 carries a star wheel 68 provided with cam tracks 70 and curved locking surfaces 72. The main drive shaft 50 supports a Geneva drive arm 74 having a depending drive roller 76 which perio'dically engages Within the cam tracks 70 of the star wheel 68 to index the drive shaft 54 of the main turret 14. The drive shaft 50 further carries a locking plate 78 constructed to engage the locking surfaces 72 during the intervals between indexing to lock the main turret 14 in position, and plate 78 also has the usual cut-out to clear the extended portions of wheel 68. 7

As seen in Figs. 2 and 6, the feed turret indexing and lock mechanism includes an intermediate drive shaft 80 connected by a suitable sprocket and chain coupling to the main drive shaft 50 and carrying a pinion 82 meshing with a Geneva drive gear 84 mounted on a rotatable stub shaft 86. The Geneva drive gear 84 supports an upwardly projecting drive pin 88 which periodically engages within peripherally spaced openings 92 provided in a Geneva wheel 99, the latterbeing keyed to the lower end of the turret shaft 32 for intermittently indexing the feed turret 10. The stub shaft 86 further carries a lock cam 94 constructed to periodically rock a latch member 96 mounted on a shaft 98 into an operative position locking the feed turret 10 against movement. The latch member 96 supports a cam roller 100 for the lock cam 94 and a lock roller 192 for the Geneva wheel 90. A tension spring 104 is operatively connected to the latch member 96 for normallybiasing the lock roller 102 into engagement with the Geneva wheel to lock the same until the cam roller rocks the latch member 96 in a direction disengaging the lock roller 102 from the Geneva wheel-90. By means of the foregoing drive mechanism,

dresses the. main turret and the feed, turret are indexed stepwise, synchronously.- I

During the. intervals between the indexing of the main and feed carriers 14, to bring successive holders 16 and receivers 12 into the transfer position, the pusherblade 48. of the receiver 12 in the transfer position is brought to the extended position B by an operating; mechanism of limited stroke. As shown in Figs. 2 to 4, the pusher-blade operating mechanism includes a bell crank lever 106 pivoted on a horizontal shaft 108. One arm 110 of the bell crank lever 106 carries a cam roller '112 which. rides on a blade-actuating cam 114 and the other arm 116 of the lever 10.6 is operatively connected to a slide bar 118 through a connecting rod 120, The slide bar 118-is mounted onthe feed turret support 34 for reciprocal movement along a chord of the turret body 30 and includes a lateral projection 122 for coupling to the pusher blade48 of the receiver 12 in the transfer position. Each pusher bar 46 carries a depending roller 124. receivable within. a circular upwardly opening track 126, formed in a ring 128 secured to the feed turret support 34.- The ring 128 overlies the slide bar 118 and is cut away radially at the. transfer position. This cut away position of the ring 128 is replaced by a roller-receiving block 130 carried on the lateral projection 122 of the slide bar 118. The block 130 is provided with an upwardly opening curved track segment 132 forming a continuation of the circular track 126 and receiving the slide rollers 124 of the receivers 12 and associated pusher bars 46 which are successively brought. into the transfer position. Accordingly, upon counterclockwise pivotal movement of the bell crank lever 106 about the shaft 108 (Fig. 2), the slide bar 113 is urged outwardly, and through the selective coupling of the slide roller 124 and the roller-receiving block 130, moves the selected pusher bar 46 and blade 48 into the extended position B to effect the transfer of the vacuum tube in the associated receiver 12, with the wires projecting for a substantial distance into the transfer guide 18.

Prior to or concurrently with the indexing of the main turret 14 to bring an unloaded holder 16 into the transfer position and to transport the loaded holder 16 away from the loading station, clearance is provided for the trailing leads of the tube, previously transferred into the loaded holder and now to be moved out of the transfer position. This wouldnot be readily feasible if guide 18 were omitted and the leads projected into the path of elements 38 of the feed plate. Accordingly, the tube supportor guide member 18-is constructed toaccommodate the tube leads during indexing to provide the requisite clearance in order to avoid bending,- twisting or shearing of the tube leads. As best seen in Fig. 7 the tube sup port 18 includes a fixed guide bracket 132, and a movable guide bracket or arm 134 mounted on the fixed guide bracket 132 for swinging movement about the guide latch pin 136. The fixed and movable brackets 132, 134-are formed with cooperating tunnel or sleeve-forming jaws 138, 140 con-fronting each other and defining a transfer tunnel for guiding the vacuum tubes 15 endwise toward the main turret 14. -As illustrated, the jaws 138, 140 are spaced to provide a vertical guideway 142 of a width sufiicient to permit. the passage of the pusher blade 48 when transferring the tubes from the successively aligned receivers to the holders. An adjusting screw 144 is operatively connected to the movable guide arm 134 for adjusting the latter with respect to the fixed guide bracket 132 in accordance with the desired width of passage 142.

In Fig. 7a there is shown a latch 141 which assures proper initial positioning of the tube 15 prior to transfer by the pusher blade 48. Specifically, the latch is pivoted about pivot pin 149 and supported within aslotted cylindrical shaft-retaining member 143 fixed to the bracket 132 by screw 151. The latch is rockable about an axis normal to the guide latch pin 136. The latch 141 includes a finger or latch tip 147 at the entry end of the tunneland in position to engageth'e leading end of the tube 15 to. be transferred therethrough. A; spring 145 is interposed between the latch 141 and the retaining member 143 and normally biases latch tip-141 into the, path of the tube. Accordingly, latch tip 147 serves; to. detain the tube 15 against passage. through; the tunnel until the pusher 48: firmly engages the base 152:- of the tube at which time the latch is cammed inwardly against the. spring 145.

An operating mechanism is connected to .themovable guide arm 134 for swinging the latter outwardly and in thedirection of indexingof theturrets 10, 14., This mechanism (Figs. 2, 7 is. controlled by a, guide bracket actuating cam 146 carried on the. intermediatedrive shaft 80 and includes a guide bracket actuating cam lever 148 pivoted on a stud 150 and. carrying; a cam roller- 152, the cam lever being coupled to themoyable guide bracket 134 by the connecting rod 154. The movable guide arm 134v is biased away from the fixed guide bracket 132 by a guide spring-156. and is periodically moved into the clearance-providing position, illustratedphantom in Fig. 7 and designated by the letter C, under the control of the guide cam 146; Y 1

Specific: reference is made to the timing diagram of Fig; 8- for a more thorough understanding of thecerrelatien between the indexing and locking of the main and; feed turrets 14, 10; of the advance of the pusher blade. 48 into the extended position B and the: subsequent re= turn to the retracted position A; and of the movement. of

the. movable guide latch 134 to the open or clearance? providingposition C. As can be seen, the advance and return. of the pusher blade48 to effect a transfer of a tube occurs during the interval in which both the main and feed turrets 14,; 10 are stationary and locked in place. Further, opening; of. the tube support or guide: member 18 occurs. during the return of the pusher blade 48 to the. retracted position A, the tube support remain.- ing in the opened or clearance-providing position'C dur-" ingmovement of the turrets, and returning to the closed: position prior to the advance of the next successive; pusher blade. it

The tubes loaded manually in .the feed turret 10 may be atvariouspositions, radially, with the glass envelope; outermost radially. The. wires are spread somewhat by the operator. during the loading operation so that: some of the wires lie on one side of blade 48 and-the rest of. the wires exte'nd'along the other side of each blade. 'Bind ing of the wiresagainst the blade frictionally is overcome by latch .141 with the ultimate result that tubes: 15 that are transferred to the-holders carried by the main. turret are all uniformly located; with reference to the? surface of theglas s envelope from which the wires extend.

After insertion of the tubes into the holders, the wires are clear of feed turret 10, which is then free. to indexand' to carry the next tube into the transfer station. The; wires ofthe. newly transferred tube extend radially from the main turret and into the guide 18, but movable arm" 134' swings out of the way of the wires as the holder carrying the newly transferred tube advances with theindexing main turret. Asv will be seen, the horizontally extending tubes and'wires are then swunginto vertical position for dipping the wires into various baths, being maintained at a level uniformly determined by transfer blades 48 and the associated mechanism, despite random variations in the positions of the tubes in turret 10 as manually inserted.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 5 and 9 to 12, there are shown details of the main turret 14 which exposes the uniformly loaded tubes to the sequential processing stepsof cleaning, tinning and washing. Specifically, the. main turret body 69 carries a plurality of radially spaced supports 158 each mounted for uniform vertical reciprocar tion by parallel holder rods 160, 160 having enlarged upper ends 162, 162'. Suspended from the supports 158 are the tube holders 16, the details of which are disclosed and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 294,737 filed June 20, 1952. Tube holders 16 are pivotally mounted on the respective supports 158 by pins 161 and are movable from a horizontal loading position to a depending treating position. Each holder is fabricated of a non-corrosive material. It includes (see Fig. a holder body 163 having fixed opposed jaws 164, 164' and a movable jaw 168 pivotally mounted on the body 162 and biased counterclockwise by spring 167, jaw 168 thereby cooperating with the split holder body jaws 164,164 to firmly grip the envelope of the vacuum tube 15. For releasing the tubes after treatment, the movable jaw 168 of the holder 16 is provided with a laterally extending operating element 170 (best seen in Fig. 11) which may be engaged to move the pivotal jaw 168 awayfrom the holder body jaws 164, 164. A rearward extension or latch 166 prevents unintentional re moval of jaw 168 from the holder assembly.

The holders 16 are maintained in the horizontal position at the loading station 20 of the main turret 14 by the radially separated, circular inner and outer supporting rails 172, 174 (Figs. 2, 9 and 12), carried by the rail supportingbracket 176 on the main turret support 52. The inner rail 172 underlies the vertically reciprocal supports 158 of the holders 16, while the outer rail 174 underlies the bodies 163 of the holders. These supporting rails 172, 174, extend about the main turret 14 in the direction of indexing from the tube transfer support 18 toward the cleaning station 22 and terminate in a rundown track 178 which gradually brings the holders 16 into the depending treating position for subsequent lowering into the'cleaning solution at the station 22.

In Figs. 1, 9 and the run-down track 178 is clearly illustrated and is seen to embody a pair of spaced apart curved holder guide rails 180, 182 carried on a holder guide bracket 184. Atthe beginning of the rundown track the curve guide rails 180, 182 are disposed in substantially the same vertical plane and receive the horizontal holder body 163 therebetween. At the end of the run-down track, both guide rails are at substantially the same horizontal level, guide rail 180 being curved downwardly from beginning to end, as shown in Fig. 10. Accordingly, the run-down track receives successive holders from the supporting rails 172, 174 and swings the holders into the depending position.

. Referring now to Fig. 10 there is'shown the beginning of the cleaning station 22 and the operating mechanism for lowering the loaded holders coming from the rundown track 178 into the cleaning solution. The cleaning station 22 includes a curved semi-circular vat or tank 186'extending about the main turret support 52 from beneath the run-down track 178 toward and terminating adjacent the soldering or tinning station 24. The tank 186 is formed with an upwardly opening trough 188 containing an acid cleaning bath or the like. The level of the cleaning bath or solution is maintained at a predetermined critical level and may be automatically controlled and regulated in accordance with principles and practices well understood per se. The vat or tank 186 is additionally formed with a compartment 190 for the circulation therethrough of a heating fluid which maintains the acid cleaning bath at an elevated temperature to render the bath highly reactive.

The operating mechanism for lowering the loaded holders'includes a vertically reciprocal operating member 192 (Fig. 10) mounted on the main turret support 52 and carrying a head 194 arranged adjacent the ends of the inner rail 172 and the run-down track. The head 194 receives the successive loaded tube holders 16 coming from the run-down track and is movable through a uniform stroke to lower the depending leads c into the acid cleaning bath to an extent predetermined by the initial positioning of the tubes in the respective holders and the level of the acid cleaning bath. The operating 8 member and head, 192, 194 is raised and lowered by a barrel cam 196 provided with a continuous cam track 198 having roughly helical ascending and descending and dwell portions which receives a pivotal cam-following block 200 and is connected to the operating member 194 through a connecting bar 202. The barrel cam 196 is carried by a cam shaft 204 journaled on the main turret support 52 and is driven through a suitable chain and sprocket coupling from the main drive shaft 50. As is apparent, the stroke of the operating member 192 and the speed of lowering may be determined by, and accurately controlled through, the design of the barrel cam 196. The lowermost position of the holders 16 is finally controlled by the length of the holder rods 160, 160', after members 158 are indexed away from member 194.

In Fig. 11, a mechanism is illustrated for raising the holders 16 at the end of the cleaning zone 22, and for thereafter transferring the cleaned tube leads to the soldering and washing stations 24, 26. Specifically, a vertically reciprocal lifting member 206 is arranged adjacent the acid cleaning tank 186 and carries a raising head 208 in position to engage the supports 158 of the successive holders 16 reaching the end of the cleaning station 22. The head 288 is periodically moved upwardly under the control of an operating mechanism including barrel cam 210 (Fig. 1) connected to the lifting member 206. A similar operating mechanism has been illustrated in Fig. 10 in connection with the lowering of the loaded holders at the beginning of the cleaning station 22, and accordingly a detailed showingof the operating mechanism for raising head 2118 has been omitted as superfluous. When the head 208 is moved upwardly, it lifts the overlying support 158 to remove the leads 150 of the supported tube from the acid cleaning bath.

Following the acid cleaning tank 186, is the solder tank 212 of the tinning station 24 which contains a molten mass of solder likewise maintained at a critical level by known regulators. A suitable operating member 214 and head therefore controlled by a cam 216 (Fig. l) are arranged adjacent to tank 212 for sequentially lowering successive holders to dip the tube leads 15c of the supported tube 15 into the solder and for thereafter raising the holders to remove the tube leads from the solder. The cam controlled operating mechanism 214 is also of the type illustrated in Fig. 10. It will suffice to point out that the stroke of the member 214 is accurately controlled to immerse the leads 15c of the successive tubes 15 to the same extent and as determined by the spacing of the solder level 218 from the base 15a of the tube body 15b when the holders are in the lowered position, as illustrated.

interposed between the tinning station 24 and the cleaning station 22 is a latch and rail mechanism 220 which is operative to maintain the holder supports 158 in an elevated position from the end of the cleaning vat 186 to the beginning of the solder tank 212. The latch mechanism 22% includes a fixed body 222 connected to the turret supporting base 52 and including a horizontal track 224 providing a supporting surface 226. Pivoted on the body 222 is a latch member 228, having a supporting surface 232 forming a continuation of the supporting surface 226 of the track 224, which receives the supports 158 as they are successively raised by the vertically reciprocal lifting head 298. An adjustable latch biasing spring 236 is operative to urge the movable latch member 228 to the extended position of Fig. 11. The holder support 158 being raised, pivots the latch member 228 in a clockwise direction until the support 158 is above the surface 232 of the latch member. Thereupon the spring 236 returns the latch member 228 to the extended position wherein the support 158 is maintained in the elevated position. When the turret is subsequently indexed, the support 158 is brought onto track 224.

Immediately following the solder or tinning station 24, is the wash station 26 which includes a tank 238 containing a wash fluid automatically maintained at'a predetermined level in any suitable manner. As shown in Fig. 1, an operating mechanism is provided at the beginning of the wash station for lowering the successive holders to bring the tube leads 150 into the wash. This mechanism is similar to the lowering mechanism at the beginning of the cleaning station 22, and includes a lowering head and operating member 240 periodically operated under the control of the barrel cam 242.

interposed between the wash station 26 and the tinning station 24, is a fixed intermediate bracket 244 for maintaining the holder supports 158 in the elevated position after being raised out of the solder tank 212 and prior to being lowered into the wash tank 238. As shown in Fig. 11, the bracket 244 includes a support surface 246 arranged in coplanar relation with respect to rail 224.- Member 214 of the solder-dipping mechanism remains elevated during turret-indexing operations, so as to support each holder 16 as it approaches guide rail 246, and to receive each approaching holder from guide rail 224.

The unloading station 28 includes an upwardly inclined conveyor 248 (see Fig. 2) of any suitable known construction, and has its inner end lowered and extending into the wash tank 238, in position to receive the fully treated tubes upon release from their respective holders carried by the turret. The holders travel in lowered positions as determined by heads 162, 162' (Fig. 2), from station 26 to station 28, thus allowing the tube leads 150 to remain in the washing bath.

In order to release the tubes when brought into position over the conveyor 248, a release mechanism 250 is provided which periodically and successively engages the lateral extending operating elements 170 of successive tube holders 16 to move the pivotal jaw 168 away from the holder body jaws 164. As seen in Figs. 1 and 11, the release mechanism includes a drive shaft 252 rotatably journaled on the main turret support 52 and connected to the main drive shaft'5b through suitable chain and sprocket couplings. The shaft 252 carries an operating cam 254 which cooperates with a similar synchronously driven cam 256for periodically urging the double cam follower 258 back and forth. The enlarged portion of element 258 near cam 252 isslotted and receives shaft 252 so as to be guided thereby. Operatively connected to the cam follower 258 is a bell crank lever 260 which is joined to pivot shaft 262 and has one arm 263 connnected' to the cam follower 253. Another arm of the bell crank lever 266 is connected through a pin-and-slot 264 to a tube release arm 266 pivoted at 268. A suitable biasing spring 270 is operatively connected to the bell crank lever 26% for biasing the same, whereby, upon endwise movement of the cam follower 258 under the control of cams 254, 256, the bell crank 260 is pivoted in counterclockwise direction. This movement of bell crank 260 pivots the tube release arm 266 clockwise into en gagement with the operating element 170 whereupon the tube is released. V

A suitable operating mechanism including a lifting head 272 is arranged to raise the emptied or unloaded holders 16 at the end of the wash station 26. This operating mechanism, which is controlled by a barrel cam 274, is similar to mechanism previously described in connection with lifting member 206 and accordingly has not been illustrated in detail. The lifting head 272 raises the emptied holders 16 to the elevated position and on to the track 224 of a latchmechanism 220', adjacent the unloading station 28. The supporting rail 224 overlaps a run-up track 276 (Figs. 1, l1 and 12) which brings the holders 16 from the depending treating position to the horizontal loading position. The outer rail 174 pre viously described terminates short of the end ofthe inner rail 172 and the run-up track 276 is carried by the outer rail 174 and forms a substantial continuation thereof. The run-up track 276 includes an elongated strap 1O of material which extends vertically adjacent-itsleading end and. gradually curves, until its trailing end'is substantially horizontal. Accordingly, as the turret carries tube holder support 158, the holder is retained in elevatedposition by the inner rail 172. The run-up trac 276cm gages the tube holder body 163 and swings the: latter" into the horizontal loading position.

In order to more fully understand the operation of the lead tinning machine of the present invention in uniformly exposing the tube leads to the various treatment stages, a complete treating cycle will be described.

The feed turret 10 is loaded with tubes 15, with the. leads 15c thereof extending radially inward and spread on opposite sides of the associated pusher blade 48. Thereafter, the tube within the reciver 12 corning 'into the transfer position is unloaded from the receiver and transferred through the hollow tube support 18 into the aligned one of the holders 16. The tube thus transferred. has its body inserted into the holder 16 to an extent predetermined by the stroke of the pusher blade 48 in moving from the retracted position A to the extended position B. During. the transfer the tube leads which are to be subsequently cleaned, tinned and washed, trail behind the body 151) and project beyond the supporting holder 16 into the tube support 18.

Substantially concurrently with the indexing of the furrets 1t), 14, the movable guide bracket 134 swings in the direction of indexing and into the clearance-providing position C, whereupon the relatively fragile tube leads 150' are freed from the tube support 18 and accordingly are. not deformed during indexing of the main turret 14.

As the main turret 14 continues to index, the tube holder 16 which is maintained in the horizontal loading position by the inner and outer supporting rails 172, 174, is brought to the beginning of the run-down? track 178. Thereupon the holder is engaged by the curved guide rails 180, 182 of the run-down track 178 and is rocked from the horizontal loading position to a depending treating position. At the end of the run-down track 178, the reciproeable head 124 which holds the support 158 in the elevated position, is lowered under the control of the barrel cam 196 to thereby immerse the depending tube leads 150 into the acid cleaning bath of the cleaning station 2 2- to an extent readilycontrolled through the adjustment of the level of the bath, and the length of the parallel guide'rods 160,160.

Successive indexings of the main turret or carrier"1 4 brings the holder to the end of the cleaning station 22 whereupon the vertical lifting head 208 urges the holder upwardly into the-elevated'pos'ition, the holder being maintained in: the elevated position between the cleaning station 22 and the tinning station 24 by means of the latch mechanism-220'.

When the holder reaches the end of the intermediate track 224 of the safety latch mechanism 220, the support 158 thereof comes to rest upon the operating member'a'nd head 214, whereupon the tube leads 15c. are lowered into the solder to an extent readily. controlled by the initial positioning of the base 15a of the tube 15 with respect to the solder level 218, as seen in Fig. 11'. After immersing the tube leads the cam controlled operating mechanism 214 raises the support 158 and thenext indexing of the main turret brings the support onto the surface 246 of the bracket 244 between the tinning station 24 and the wash station 26. As the" main turret continues to index, the support 158 is brought into position over the operating member and lowering head 240, which lowers the tube leads 150 into the tank 238 of the washstation 26. Continued indexing of the main turret brings the operating element of the holder 16 into position to be engaged by the tube release arm which is swung at the appropriate time during the machine cycle to release the completely processed tube from its holder, whereupon the tube-falls into the lower 11 end of ,the conveyor 248 of the unloading station 28 and is delivered from the wash bath.

After the holder is unloaded the lifting head 272 raises the holder to the elevated position and the holder is thereafter maintained in the elevated position by the safety latch mechanism 226. As the main turret continues to index, the holder 16 is swung from the depending treating position to the horizontal loading position and ultimately is brought into alignment with the tube support and a loaded receiver 12 whereupon the holder is again reloaded for processing another tube.

While there has been described a machine that is especially well suited for the process described, the illustrative embodiment will be found susceptible to a latitude of changes, and features thereof may be variously employed toadvantage without necessarily relying on others in varied applications. Accordingly the appended claims should be accorded a latitude of interpretation, consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In an article processing machine having a loading station, a feed carrier including a plurality of receivers for articles having a body and at least one trailing projection, a main carrier spaced from said feed carrier and including a plurality of article holders engageable with the bodies of said articles, indexing means operatively connected to said carriers for intermittently moving said carriers to bring successive receivers and holders into a transfer position at said loading station, and article guiding means interposed between said carriers at said loading station for guiding said articles during transfer from said feed carrier to said main carrier, said article guiding means having a movable part to provide for unobstructed removal therefrom of the trailing projection of said article during intermittent movement of said carriers, means for moving said part incident to the main carrier movement, and transfer means operable in timed relation to said indexing means for displacing successive articles from said receivers along said article guiding means and into said holders when in said transfer position.

2. A transfer mechanism including a feed carrier, a main carrier, a drive mechanism moving said carriers into a transfer position relative to each other for transferring an article from said feed carrier to said main carrier, transfer means of uniform stroke operable to move said article from said feed carrier to said main carrier and effective to insert an article thus transferred only part way into said main carrier, an article guiding means between said carriers along the path of said article during transfer, said article guiding means having a movable part providing lateral clearance for the part of said article projecting from said main carrier during the movement of said main carrier from said transfer position and means for moving said part as an incident to said main carrier movement.

3. A transfer mechanism including a feed carrier, a main carrier, a drive mechanism moving said carriers into a transfer position relative to each other for transferring an article from said feed carrier to said main carrier, transfer means of uniform stroke operable to move said article from said feed carrier to said main carrier and effective to insert an article thus transferred only part way into said main carrier, an article guiding means between said. carriers along the path of said article during transfer, said article guiding means having a movable part providing lateral clearance for the part of said article projecting from said main carrier during the movement of said main carrier from said transfer position, means for moving said part incident to said main carrier movement and mechanism for thereafter treating the exposed projecting portion of said article.

4. In a tube processing machine, a main turret including a plurality of tube holders, a feed turret spaced from said main turret and including a plurality of tube receivers, a tube guide interposed between said main and feed turrets for the passage therethrough of tubes placed in said receivers to be transferred to said holders, drive means operatively connected to said main and feed turrets for intermittently moving said turrets to bring successive receivers and holders into alignment with each other and with said tube guide, and a transfer mechanism comprising a pusher blade thrusting against the base of a tube and operable in timed relation to said drive means for periodically displacing said tubes from the successively aligned receivers through said tube guide and into said holders.

5. In an article processing machine having a loading station, a feed carrier including a plurality of article receivers, a main carrier spaced from said feed carrier and including a plurality of article holders, an article guide interposed between said carriers at said loading station for guiding articles during transfer from said feed carrier to said main carrier, indexing means operatively connected to said carriers for intermittently moving said carriers to bring successive receivers and holder into a transfer position relative to said article guide, and transfer means comprising a pusher blade thrusting against the base of a tube and operable in timed relation to said indexing means for displacing successive articles from said receivers through said article guide and into said holders when in said transfer position.

6. An article processing machine comprising a feed carrier, a main carrier, a drive mechanism moving said carriers into a transfer position relative to each other for transferring an article from said feed carrier to said main carrier, a transfer element operable to move said article from said feed carrier to said main carrier along a predetermined path, an operating mechanism of uniform stroke connected to said transfer element for operating the latter to partially insert said article into said main carrier, an article guide having a pivoted portion arranged along said predetermined path and between said carriers for supporting said article during transfer, and actuating means operable in timed relation to said drive and operating mechanisms for swinging said pivoted portion into a position of clearance for the part of said article projecting from said main carrier during movement of said carriers from said transfer position.

7. A machine for tinning the leads of vacuum tubes comprising a feed carrier, a main carrier including a movable tube holder, a drive mechanism for moving said carriers into a transfer position at a loading station of said main carrier, transfer means of uniform stroke operable to move a tube from said feed carrier to said main carrier and effective to insert a tube thus transferred only part way into said holder with the tube leads projecting therefrom, a tube guide, said tube guide including a pair of jaws cooperating in a closed position to provide a transfer tunnel, means for moving one of said jaws out of the path of the projecting leads as the last tube loaded is advanced with the main carrier, said jaws having operating mechanism movable in timed relation to the movement of said carriers, a lead tinning tank spaced from said loading station, and means having an operating mechanism of uniform stroke for moving said holder to lower the tube leads into said tinning tank to a predetermined extent.

8. In a lead tinning machine having a loading station and at least one processing station, a horizontal feed turret including a plurality of radially-spaced tube receivers, a main turret including a plurality of radially-spaced tube holders, a drive mechanism operatively connected to said turrets for moving successive receivers and holders into a transfer position in alignment with each other and at said loading station, a radially movable transfer element mounted on said feed turret and operable to unload the tubes from said receivers into said holders, an operating mechanism of uniform stroke connected to said transfer element for operating the latter to insert successive tubes into said holders to a predetermined extent, mechanism disposing the holders in horizontal attitude during the loading operation and shifting the holders to vertical attitude thereafter, a tank at said processing station for a tinning bath, and another operating mechanism of uniform stroke for intermittently moving said holders vertically relative to said tank for immersing the leads of the tubes into the tinning bath to a predetermined extent.

9. A machine for tinning the leads of vacuum tubes comprising a rotatable feed carrier including a tube receiver, a rotatable main carrier including a movable tube holder, drive means for moving said receiver and holder into an aligned position relative to each other and at a loading station, transfer means of uniform stroke operable to unload a tube from said receiver and load said tube to a predetermined extent into said holder with the tube leads projecting therefrom, a tube guide intermediate said feed and main carriers and along the path of said tube during transfer, a cleaning station spaced from said loading station and including a tank for a cleaning solution, means for lowering said holder relative to said tank to immerse said tube leads into said cleaning solution to a predetermined extent, means for raising said holder into an elevated position relative to said cleaning tank to withdraw said tube leads from said cleaning solution after a predetermined time, a tinning station spaced from said cleaning station and including a tank for a tinning bath, and means having an operating mechanism of uniform stroke for moving said holder relative to said tinning tank to immerse said tube leads into said tinning bath to a predetermined extent.

10. A machine according to claim 9, including a latch mechanism between said cleaning station and said tinning station for maintaining said holder in said elevated position, said latch mechanism comprising a spring biased member in the upward path of travel of said head and forming a support for said holder when in said elevated position.

11. The method of loading tubes and the like having leads extending from one end of the envelope including the steps of loading the tube in a feed carrier with a transfer blade between said leads, pushing the tube endwise by means of the blade into a holder to a predetermined extent as determined by the end position of the blade in engagement with the envelope.

12. The method of tinning tube leads which includes the initial step of loading the tube with the leads projecting from a holder in the manner defined in claim 11, in-

eluding the further steps of successively dipping the leads into cleaning, tinning and washing baths successively, through a uniform stroke of immersion and elevation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 928,172 Bernardin July 13, 1909 1,783,642 Ferguson et al Dec. 2, 1930 1,925,134 Carroll et al Sept. 5, 1933 2,029,823 Huntley et a1 Feb. 4, 1936 2,442,183 Stearns May 25, 1948 2,525,765 Betge Oct. 17, 1950 

11. THE METHOD OF LOADING TUBES AND THE LIKE HAVING LEADS EXTENDING FROM ONE END OF THE ENVELOPE INCLUDING THE STEPS OF LOADING THE TUBE IN A FEED CARRIER WITH A TRANSFER BLADE BETWEEN SAID LEADS, PUSHING THE TUBE ENDWISE BY MEANS OF THE BLADE INTO A HOLDER TO A PREDETERMINED EXTENT AS DETERMINED BY THE END POSITION OF THE BLADE IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ENVELOPE. 